Google Assistant can now schedule your smart lights to turn on or off

Google Assistant is getting a new smart home capability, which, honestly, seems long overdue.

Google Assistant now lets users schedule devices, including smart lights, to turn on and off at certain times with a “scheduled actions” feature.

Android Police first noticed the feature via developer documentation. Keep in mind smart lights like Hue have long worked with Google Assistant, including to turn them on and off and to set alarms, but with this new update, you can now tell Assistant when, specifically, to turn off lights and other devices.

For example, you can say something like, “Hey Google, turn off the lights Saturday at 11pm.” While, in most instances, you should say the exact day and time, you can say sunrise or sunset. You also can use Google Assistant to schedule a length of time to keep your lights or devices on - like "for 15 minutes".

Kinks in the new feature are reportedly still being worked out, as Android Police noted the ability to cancel a scheduled action doesn’t yet work. Google Assistant's smart home documentation, however, suggests the feature should be in good working order soon.

For more about Assistant and how it works, check out Pocket-lint's guides: 

• What is Google Assistant and what can it do?
• Google Assistant tips and tricks: How to master the AI

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